I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to adhesive rollers of the type used for detritus removal.
II. Description of Related Art
There are many previously known adhesive rollers used for detritus removal. These previously known rollers typically comprise an elongated strip having a backing layer. The strip includes two ends and two spaced apart and parallel sides.
An adhesive layer is provided along a first side of the backing layer. Thereafter, the strip is wound into a tubular and cylindrical roller with the adhesive layer facing outwardly. Oftentimes the strip is wound around a tubular core and the tubular core is then rotatably mounted on a handle to facilitate rolling of the adhesive roller along the surface desired to be cleaned.
After prolonged use of the adhesive roller for cleaning surfaces, the adhesive on the outermost adhesive layer or sheet of the adhesive roller becomes covered with detritus and other matter and loses its adhesiveness. When this happens, it is necessary to remove the outermost sheet of the adhesive roller to expose fresh adhesive on the next underlying sheet on the roller.
However, because of the adhesion of the backing strip with the adhesive on the next underlying layer on the roller, the actual removal of single sheets, each constituting one circumference of the roller, is oftentimes difficult. Frequently, the outermost sheet of the adhesive roller becomes torn during its removal. Even though a uniform release coating covers the side of the backing strip opposite from the adhesive side, these previously known uniform release coatings, however, are of a relatively weak strength in order to ensure the integrity of the roll in use.
There have, however, been a number of previously known adhesive roller constructions designed to facilitate the removal of an individual sheet corresponding to one revolution around the cylindrical roller when desired to expose fresh adhesive on the next underlying sheet. In one previously known adhesive roller, perforations are provided at spaced intervals along the roller so that the space in between the perforations corresponds substantially to one revolution of the adhesive roller. In still a further previously known adhesive roller, a single cut terminates at a position spaced inwardly from the sides of the adhesive roller to facilitate removal of individual sheets or layers of the adhesive roller.
Even with these previously known adhesive rollers having both spaced perforations and/or a cut formed through the roller to facilitate separation of individual sheets from the roller, it is still oftentimes difficult to initiate the removal of one sheet from the roller due to the adhesion of the backing layer of the outermost sheet with the adhesive on the next innermost layer of the roller. Consequently, in order to facilitate the initiation of the removal of an individual sheet from the roller, there have been previously known adhesive rollers which provide at least one and oftentimes two “dry” edges along the backing strip. These dry edges are uncovered with adhesive so that the edge of the outermost sheet can be easily grasped along the dry edge in order to initiate the removal of the outermost sheet from the roller.
These previously known adhesive rollers with dry edges, however, have not proven wholly satisfactory in use. One disadvantage of the dry edge is that it reduces the amount of area of the exposed adhesive on the outermost surface of the roller since the dry edges are not covered with an adhesive. As such, the efficiency of the adhesive roller is less than an adhesive roller in which the entire outwardly facing surface of the backing strip is covered with an adhesive.
A still further disadvantage of the previously known adhesive rollers is that it is difficult during the manufacturing process to maintain an accurate width of the dry edge along one or both of the edges of the strip. The inability to maintain an accurate and predetermined dimension for the width of the dry edges along the adhesive roller provides an aesthetically displeasing appearance for the consumer. Furthermore, zone coating of the adhesive on the backing layer to form the dry edge(s) significantly increases the manufacturing costs for the adhesive roller.